Viewpoints

Alessandra Savarese '21 The airstrike ordered by President Trump on January 3rd created an international shockwave with the death of General Soleimani, the leader of the Iranian Quds Force and second in command of the Iranian government. This provocation enraged Iran due to Soleimani’s popularity among the Iranian people, causing them to aggressively target the United States. With many media platforms showing clips of people in Iran chanting “Death to America,” it can make one wonder, why would our government and Administration allow this to happen?  A driving issue at the core of the airstrike in Iran is the involvement…

Luc Yansouni '20 On January 3rd 2020, the United States killed one of the world’s most notorious terrorists: General Qasem Soleimani. It is estimated that over the course of his career as the leader of the Iranian Quds Force, Soleimani was responsible for the deaths of over 600 Americans, and the dismembering of thousands more by IEDs. He instructed his troops to install roadside bombs, and in the years around 2010 he ordered 20 to 30 rocket attacks against U.S. bases each month. In the months before his death, these attacks were starting to escalate: there were strikes on Saudi…

Jonathan Martinez '21 In my opinion, President Trump should be impeached. He abused his power, blocking aid to a foreign country that was already approved by Congress. He said that the only way he would send that $400 million worth of military aid was if Ukraine dug up dirt on Joe Biden’s son; he was extorting them. Both himself and the transcript have confirmed that Trump asked Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s son. He asked a foreign country to meddle in an election for potentially the second time. He’s used his political power for his own gain. These are just…

Harrison Wells '20 During the past two months, news cycles have been filled with updates regarding the impeachment process that Nancy Pelosi and other House Democrats recently instigated. They claim that President Trump threatened to hold foreign aid from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky unless he opened an investigation in Hunter Biden’s shady business dealings in Ukraine. Now, whether or not Trump actually did this is up for the people and The House of Representatives to decide. The transcript has been made public by the White House and is ready for the American people to read such that they can come…

Alexia Gutierrez '20 The international panel on climate change warned that the world needs to keep the increase in global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius within the next 11 years. How do we get there? Government regulation. The reality remains that market-oriented solutions that curb the effects of climate change are essential to achieving a sustainable future; however, these solutions would be of minimal impact without policy. Take the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative for example. RGGI is the first mandatory market- based program in the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This initiative is a cooperative effort among the…

Jack Frauenhofer '22 Over the past few years, politicians, environmentalists, and certain American demographics have pushed for government regulation on carbon emissions to limit the always changing climate of the Earth. Plans, such as the New Green Deal, propose for the U.S. to rely solely on renewable energy powered by windmills and solar panels by hopefully 2035. This specific proposal calls for the elimination of all combustion-engine vehicles within ten years, which comprise 99% of all current automobiles and whose elimination would cost trillions to US consumers. Although, these proposals aim to end climate change, the only effects will be…

Hank Twichell '20 With the 2020 election drawing closer, many of the Democratic presidential candidates have fought to distinguish themselves by publishing blueprints of policies that they would implement once in office. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (D-VT) are two of the candidates who have promised to combat wealth inequality by addressing the issues of student loan debt and the high cost of college tuition. They have proposed to forgive a portion of student loan debt for students whose annual income does not exceed $250,000 and provide free college tuition for all students who attend public universities. In theory,…

Liam Strand '20 Currently, there is $1.56 trillion in U.S. student loan debt spread across 45 million Americans who, on average, each pay $393 towards their loans every month (The Federal Reserve). This hardship makes it extremely difficult for students, fresh out of college, to begin their lives in the ‘real world.’ This affects financially disadvantaged graduates especially, as they need to take out the largest loans and don’t have a monetary safety net provided by their parents. These students are inexperienced, unprotected, and are often the first in their family to graduate from college. Upon exiting college, they are…